Calendar Template for Early

Education Programs

A center’s calendar is a powerful tool for setting the vision for the year, unifying
community stakeholders, creating in-sync community rhythms, preserving
traditions, and sparking inspiring ways to come together. The calendar is a lifeline
to educators and families, keeping them abreast of what’s to come.

Follow these guidelines and best practices to create a valuable calendar that
your entire learning community can benefit from!

Elements of a well-designed calendar

As you're creating your program's calendar, remember to make it:

Comprehensive—List all center events and closures to take out the guesswork
for families who need to get creative to balance work and parenting
responsibilities.

Thoughtful and well-balanced—Consider the number of special events offered

for the year for optimal family engagement. Offer some balance between
events that require little effort to participate and heartier events with more
significant asks.

Available with ample notice—It’s a strong way to set expectations and vision
for the year. The most organized parents and educators will thank you!
Guiding questions for your calendar

Use these questions to ensure your calendar reflects your core values and vision
for the year:

1) How does this event/practice accurately reflect a core value we hold about
children, educators, or families?

2) How does providing this event/opportunity impact the experience and journey
of the children, the families, and/or the teachers at your center this year?

3) Fast forward to the day after, a week after, or a month after the event: what do
you imagine families and educators will be saying about this event? Did it meet
your expectations and objectives?

Building community starts with family engagement

When families are engaged, they are more likely to be collaborative and
supportive. Well-founded relationships with families can support staff retention
with increased positive feelings and interactions between teachers and parents.

Here are some tips for boosting family engagement at your center:

Ensure your events are inclusive:

Offer a variety of morning, afternoon, evening, weekend, and virtual
events
Offer free events when possible and provide financial assistance when
needed
Provide translation services when possible
Design events for all family types, and cultures, and are accessible to
anyone with a disability
Create a family event planning committee and solicit same-day volunteers

Design attention-grabbing flyers for your events

Include an image, event details, the purpose of the event, and a call to
action.
Try out Canva with pre-designed templates.

Announce the event in your newsletter two weeks before, then a week
before, followed by a final reminder a day or two before (you know your
community best!)

Never underestimate the power of a personal invitation from a director or

teacher. Invite families by:
Messaging them with event details
Connect with them in-person at drop-off or pick-up

Send out thank you's and pictures of your favorite moments the next day

After the event, reflect and ask yourself

How were the families engaged?
Describe any surprises (positive or not) that came up during the event?
What are the opportunities for improvement with this event (start to
finish)?
Did you meet your goals with this event? Why or why not?

Tip: When life happens and scheduling gets tricky, make minimal
changes to the calendar with as much notice as possible and the reason
for the change. Consider polling your parents when rescheduling to
ensure the majority can participate.
Year-Round Center Calendar Template

Use this template to build a new calendar or to spark new ideas for your existing
one.

Please note that:

This template reflects a year-round program with the first day of school/care
in August
You know your community best! Find the right balance of events for each
month
Be clear with staff about which events are mandatory (pay) vs. optional (no
pay)
Consider public community events to support fundraising and enrollment
efforts

August

Events
New Staff Orientation (prior to the first day)
Teacher Prep Day (prior to the first day)
All staff meeting and training (prior to the first day)
New family intake with teacher (prior to the first day)
New Families Orientation (prior to the first day)
New Family Visiting Day (prior to the first day)
The First Day of School

Community ideas
Welcome picnics (center-wide or by class)
Pop in to say hello with popsicles
Monthly director’s podcast with a teacher (or two) as a special guest
Nature Walk
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)
September

Events
Holiday and center closure: Labor Day
Back-to-School Night
Picture Day

Community ideas
Family Sing-Along
Celebrate your center’s birthday!
Virtual adult game night (by class): icebreakers, drawasaurus, trivia night, etc.
Community scavenger hunt on the weekend
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)

October

Events
Kindergarten Readiness Parent Meeting
Family Classroom Meeting (i.e., curriculum or a developmental topic)
Professional Development Day

Community ideas
Fall Festival
Spirit Day (wear school apparel)
Monthly director’s podcast with a teacher (or two) as a special guest
Secret Pals - parents randomly select a teacher to treat with an end-of-week
reveal
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)
November

Events
Holiday and center closures: Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving break
Daylight Saving!
Family Conferences

Community ideas
Giving Tuesday/community service project
Friendsgiving
Family dinner restaurant fundraiser
Family Picture Day
Mystery Parent Reader
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)

December

Events
Holiday and center closures: Winter break
Mid-year community surveys (staff and parents)

Community ideas
Winter Festival
Family Sing-Along
Ask me anything about development with the director/owner (Webinar-style)
Family dinner restaurant fundraiser
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)
January

Events
Holiday and center closures: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Professional Development

Community ideas
Spirit Day (wear school apparel)
Virtual adult game night (by class): Icebreakers, drawasaurus, trivia night, etc.
Children’s work gallery walk-through
Monthly director’s podcast with a teacher (or two) as a special guest
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)

February

Events
Holiday and center closure: President’s Day

Community ideas
Celebrating friendships (i.e., songs, read-alouds, etc.)
National Pancake Day (center hosts breakfast for families, children, and staff)
Secret Pals - parents randomly select a teacher to treat with an end-of-week
reveal
Mystery Parent Reader
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)
March

Events
Holiday and center closure: Cesar Chavez’s Day (if applicable)
Professional Development
Spring Fundraiser
Daylight Saving
Re-enrollment time!

Community ideas
Spring Cleaning Day
Family Sing-Along
Family dinner restaurant fundraiser
Monthly director’s podcast with a teacher (or two) as a special guest
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)

April

Events
Holiday and center closure: Spring break
NAEYC: Week of the Young Child
Family Conferences

Community ideas
Celebrating Earth Day
Teacher Appreciation Celebration
Week of the young child activities
Spring school fair (i.e., stations: food/drinks, games, crafts, photo booth, etc.)
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)
May

Events
Holiday and center closure: Memorial Day
Teacher Appreciation Week
Open House
Family Day (a more inclusive option to Mother’s Day)
End-of-year community surveys (staff and parents)

Community ideas
Celebrate families (i.e., parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, adults important
to child) with muffins, afternoon tea, or a pizza party
Spirit Day (wear school apparel)
Parent and staff talent show
Family camping trip
Family-teachers book club (on a developmental topic)

June

Events
Holiday and center closures: Juneteenth, Summer break
Graduation
Family Day (a more inclusive option to Father’s Day)
Last Day of School

Community ideas
Family Sing-Along
Summer/end of the year picnic with slide show or video of images from the
past year
Family Day Ice Cream Social
Dinner @ School: Food Truck
Family-Teachers Book Club (on a developmental topic)
July

Events
Holiday and center closure: Independence Day
Summer Camp Fun

Summer camp ideas

Water Day
Field trip to local business and/or meet community helpers (e.g., firefighters)
Bubbles Day
Field Day
Fun Fridays with special guests (i.e., balloon maker, bubble maker, face
painting artists, musicians, traveling aquarium, etc.)
Bike and Scooter Day
Make a Tie-dye Shirt Day
Restaurant Day (children prepare menu for parents to order)
Music and Movement Day
Science Day: Mystery Concoctions (i.e., food coloring, water, oil, baking soda,
vinegar, etc.)
Cooking Day and themes

Ice Cream Pizza Jam

Popsicles Fruit Salad Cookies

Green Salad Play Dough Banana Bread

Rice Krispie Squares Pancakes

*Remember to tie it back to development: Cognitive, social-

emotional, gross motor, fine motor, language, and sensory.

Ready, set, create new memories!

 How brightwheel can help
Brightwheel is the #1 rated, all-in-one early childcare solution that partners with
educators to streamline their centers’ operations and strengthen family engagement.

With brightwheel, administrators and educators can easily connect with families to
keep them tuned in and engaged throughout the year:

Create classroom calendars. Stay organized and keep families informed about
important dates in the classroom calendar. Parents can easily access the calendar
anytime on the app with a click of a button.

Make announcements: Administrators can send messages to entire room(s)

simultaneously to send timely announcements such as “Bring your raincoats and rain
boots tomorrow for Rainy Day Play!”

Share the memories of community events in your monthly newsletter. Families who
participated will relive the amazing memories and those who missed it will be
excited for the next one!

And more!

To learn more about how brightwheel can partner with you and your
educators to boost family engagement, chat with an expert today:
www.mybrightwheel.com/demo